Crimson and White

I have found out that no one can hold you back in life but yourself. If you say that you are not able to accomplish something, only makes you fall short of your success in life. I have definitely struggled, but in the end I came out a college graduate.

I have failed, but have also succeeded. I teach my students the same morals. You can only learn through your mistakes. It is what you take from your mistakes, and what you make of them. I was not a straight A student, and only made honor roll 3 times during my college years. But who's to say that makes me a better or worse teacher? GPA? haha...I graduated with allmmoosstt a 3.0. That 3.0 just shows that learning doesn't come easy to me, but I did it! And here is my proof! :D

Mess.....What Mess?

Okay....So I have always been an organizer, a cleaner, and a re-arranger (if thats a word). Well recently, I have been piling things into our "office". This has basically become my area to work in, and where I can pile all of my teaching materials. Well since I am transitioning from the 4th grade to the 1st grade, its been a process. Most of my stuff is at school, basically because I am luckily only switching rooms, not schools. And the best part is that the teacher who is taking my position, we are just swapping rooms. So we pile a little here and there in each others rooms for now. Meanwhile...I have been trying my best to get organized at home, so when I take stuff to school, I know what's what, and where things are going. So here are a few pics of before I got into organizing. I will post the after pics in a day or so.... :)

Couch? What Couch?

"The Kids"

I thought I would post a few pics of our little ones..Chloe and Buddy. They have gotten so big...and maybe a little bit too big. But with those faces, we can hardly resist giving them basically anything they want......esp. treats. And yea...they know what that word means, even what it starts with, and the cupboard they are in. Smart cookies. Its been almost a year since we have adopted them:) And we love them more every day... they are "our kids" :D

Chloe sleeping

Buddy Relaxing.... Life is soo hard

A comfy place

Photos Galore!

I have been MIA...

I was talking to Mandy the other day, and we got to talking, when I finally realized how long its been since I've blogged. I really enjoy blogging, but have gotten too busy, that I haven't taken even 10 minutes out of my day or week to catch up on others happenings, let alone my own.

Where some of the days go...I have absolutely NO idea. The weekends, we just wont even go there. In the past couple of weeks, a lot has happened! First...my cousin Liz, got married to a great guy named Bobby. "Yes, he is a Bob..and he acts like a Bob too :)" She had a wonderful wedding, and everything worked out just fine. I have to say, she had one of theeee most awesome things at her wedding reception! A photo booth! YES! and it was AWESOME! The whole idea was really cool as well. You would go in and take your pictures, then they would print. Well instead of just a strip of 4, 8 photos would print. So you got to keep a copy, and the other copy went in a small photo book. Well..next to your photo you could write a message. Lets just say as the night went on, the pictures not only got more hilarious, but so did the messages. Random things kept popping up in the photo booth, like food, some stolen, but returned signs, random objects, and so on. We had a great time! My brother and I were entertained the whole night! Here are a "select" few from our photo shoots. Beware..they get a little sassy towards the end ;)

Our Family

Strike A Pose

The Bride and I

Hey...at least were a family that can act goofy around each other;)

Neighbors who are family

Bridesmaids & Good Times

Phil & I

I just got off the phone with my bff, Mandy. Where to start???......

Mandy is one of the most amazing, funny, and supportive friends a girl could ever ask for. We have always known each other since middle school, and high school. However, our college years would have never been the same with out each other. We grew tremendously close to one another, and hung out almost...almost every other day. She was my comedy hour when I needed one, my rock for my weak days, and my friend through everything. And now, she is expecting. I still feel like I am in a dream. That's right, she's pregnant! Mandy, my best girl, is going to be a MOM! I talked to her, and I love our open/random conversating are completely normal. I guess thats what makes us such good friends.

All I can say is how wonderful Mandy and Brett are going to be as parents. They are such a normal, loving couple that completely compliment each other. Like anyone of us, who are married, now what it takes to make your relationship work on some days. Life isn't always fair, and love will test your patience. But Mandy and Brett have always been there for each other. They have also been awesome role models for us. (Especially since they have been dating longer ;) ) I know that in my heart and mind, they will be the most loving parents any child hopes to have. As Mandy and I wrapped up our conversation tonight, we talked about all of the things we did through-out college. That made us scared just for a second for our children when they reach our age. As we talked, we thought about how hopepfully by the time our kids are 18-19, that they will be able to have a GPS chip implanted in them. I think it made us feel a little bit better :)

I still see Mandy and I doing the stupid, but hilarious things we did together when we were 19. But the truth is, times have changed, and it makes me think of the future. In the next 7 or so months, Mandy will become a mom.

And when her little one arrives in this world, we will all be waiting.

I can not express enough how much Mandy means to me, and how much I love her. I only hope that someday...............someday when Phil and I become parents as well, that our children will grow up together as Mandy and I have.